ISS crew takes refuge in Dragon amid Russian air leak

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station were ordered to shelter in a docked SpaceX spacecraft on Friday as Russian cosmonauts worked to address a worsening air leak in the station's Russian segment. After approximately two hours, the precautionary measures were called off and the crew returned to normal operations.

NASA directed the four members of its SpaceX Crew-12 mission—American astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev—along with NASA astronaut Chris Williams to enter the Dragon spacecraft "Freedom" and assume an elevated safety posture. The order was issued at 9:04 a.m. ET out of an abundance of caution, according to the agency.

The leak is located in the transfer tunnel of the Zvezda service module, a Russian segment known as PrK. NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens stated this area has suffered from cracks and leaks for some time, a persistent concern that the agency monitors closely. The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, has managed the issue through operational mitigation and periodic repairs for over five years.

Recent data indicated an escalation in the leak...